


Father and Daughter

by intern_at_german_chapterhouse



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, F/M, Parent Tony Stark, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:20:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22656907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/intern_at_german_chapterhouse/pseuds/intern_at_german_chapterhouse
Summary: "If only you knewThe sunlight shines a little brighterThe weight of the world's a little lighterThe stars lean in a little closerAll because of you"~Daughter, by Sleeping At Last
Relationships: Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	Father and Daughter

Tony Stark was a rather complex person.  
Anyone who ever met him would agree.  
He was one of the youngest students at MIT ever, he inherited a multi-billion-dollar company before he turned twenty.  
First he became known as The Merchant of Death, then as a man who slept with all the famous women out there- and basically with any other woman who'd have him.  
The media loved him, his rivals hated him. But almost everyone admired him.  
Then he was kidnapped, lost, missed, even rumoured to be dead.  
And when he came back, he changed.  
Or maybe, he was just more openly himself and people saw more of the person he actually was.  
He still liked to describe himself as a genius, billionaire, playboy and philanthropist. Even called himself a hero.  
But it became clear, to more and more people, that the face Tony Stark showed the media was a mask.  
Something to hide behind.  
An armour.  
Maybe even more so than his actual mask and armour.  
The metal tin can shielding the breakable man inside.

But he managed to keep the facade up, at least in parts.  
Until the day Thanos attacked. The day he was hurled into space, had a moon thrown at him and lost the kid.  
When he got back, he was destroyed. He yelled at Steve, he yelled at everyone that came too close. He even yelled at Pepper once, who just yelled right back until he apologized.  
After that, the mask wasn't enough. The persona he had created for interviews, the media, the press, wasn't enough anymore.  
He needed literal space between him and all those things.  
And so Pepper and Tony moved into their house by the lake.  
No one came too close, no one asked questions, no one bothered them.  
And Tony let his guard down more and more by the day.

But the thing that completely cracked the shell he had built around him since he was a young boy?  
That was her face.  
Her smile.  
The first time she looked at him.  
Five fingers wrapped around one of his and he was done for.  
He didn't know if he was crying because he realized he'd never smiled so hard before or if he was smiling because he couldn't remember ever crying because of joy before that second.

And so, the Merchant of Death, the genius and philanthropist, the playboy and billionaire, the mechanic, the hero, became a father.  
Slowly, almost all the things that had contributed to the way the media had shown him, the way he'd been perceived, disappeared.  
Ever since he'd gotten with Pepper, there hadn't been any other women in his life.  
He didn't go to meetings at Stark Industries or the Avengers' compound.  
He didn't put on his suit for years.  
And even things like the music he listened to changed.  
Morgan loved those stupid Frozen songs. Thanks to her, the famous Tony Stark walked around for days on end with Let It Go stuck in his head, humming In Summer.  
The girl also loved My Little Pony.  
And Tony guessed it had to be some sort of Stockholm syndrome because... he kind of started to like the series too?

One night, after putting Morgan to sleep, he sat on the porch with Pepper, both of them had a glass of wine in their hands.  
The sun had just set, in was one of the longest days of the year.  
The air was still warm and filled with life and scents of the summer.  
Neither of them knew that this was the last evening they spent together before everything changed again.  
Pepper took one of his hands in hers and squeezed it for a second.  
She told him she loved him. He said he loved her too.  
She told him he had changed.  
Since when, he asked.  
But she just smiled.  
For the better she said.  
He hoped so, he responded.

And then she looked him in the eyes, for a few seconds, before looking back out over the lake that was still bathed in orange light from the sunset.  
And she told him something she had wanted to say for a long time.  
Something she hadn't been sure he'd be ready to hear.  
But now he was. She knew he was.  
“You're a good father, Tony.”


End file.
